Changes along the way
by Shi Feng Huang
Summary: Training time B updated and extended, R
1. Default Chapter

I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever companies publishing her work around the world.  
  
A.N. After reading some complains about my editing, I tried to change it a little bit. It was hard and I really don't know if I got it right. Paragraphs might have been a little bit too big for everyone else to digest, but they had an internal coherence (or at least I tried that they had some resemblance to coherence). I cannot just cut them without losing the meaning of the text. I really didn't know about anonymous reviews, I just didn't check before I sent this to ffnet. This is my first time, I hope I didn't mess up too much. C&C welcome, by the way, but, please, no more complaining about paragraphs, I promise I will keep that in mind for the future.  
  
CHAPTER 1. BACK TO NORMAL LIFE (if normal life exists, that is)  
  
She sat on her bed, staring at the window, the wedding dress on the floor. She would like to be angry, no, better furious, and tear it apart, she would like to slap Ukyo, she had considered her a friend and now this... She would like to mope the floor with Shampoo's mane. As for Kodachi, perhaps a nice play of throwing daggers at her while having her roped to a russian rulette would be enough. It would have been her wedding, damn them all!!! And the worst of all, when she had confronted Ranma about what he said (no, what she thought he said), he denied it. She had gone along with the wedding plan just because she was sure he loved her... She felt a part of her had died that day. After ranting in her room for hours she crawled to bed and tried to sleep.  
  
Akane woke up and got out of bed reluctantly. I don't think I can face my friends at school.... She dragged herself to the furo and spent as much time as she could in the hot water, not that it relaxed her in any case. She put on her clothes and watched her reflection on the mirror. She looked terrible, sadness crying loudly in her eyes for anyone to see. She tried to fake a smile Who would think acting classes would come up handy?.  
  
She sat by the table and went through breakfast, not saying a word, eating slowly. Nabiki was long gone. She should be angry at her, for inviting all her rivals, but she had no energy. Ranma was wolfing down his food as usual, but she didn't care to scowl at him for his manners. What was the use of it? She wore her smile through school, even when she had to endure some of her friends whispering alternatively about how lucky or unlucky she was, not having character enough to make her fiancée behave... She wanted to laugh at the irony of this one. What else could she do? Shoot him down?  
  
Ukyo was nowhere in sight. Just fine. She didn't think she could stand to see her right now without trying to maim her, badly. At least, she was more or less in her league. Pity she couldn't do the same about Shampoo. That shameless hussy had throwned herself at Ranma that very morning on their way to school. She had punted them to somewhere near the Tokyo Tower, Mousse following Shampoo as always, pledging his eternal love to her. Such a shame. Poor boy.  
  
After school, she walked to her room and changed into her gi, perhaps some workout would do her good. She did her stretches and faced the practice dummy, just looking at it, as if it was the first time she ever saw it. She remembered working with her father on her forms when she was a little child, then her training on her own as she grew older. She arched her arm backwards as if preparing a punch and closed her hand in a fist and played the movement in slow motion. She barely touched the wooden post and stopped. Then it dawned on her. What was the use of hitting and destroying dummies? They didn't move, they didn't counter or block or dodge her attacks. What could she learn from them? Nothing. It was useless, she was useless, she had been doing this for years, since her mother died, but it took her nowhere. She had been fighting boys at high school, but most lacked training in martial arts. What rush could one get from fighting unskilled hormone-driven boys? She sat by the wall, her hands holding her head and cried.  
  
She had spent most of the evening at the dojo. What could she do? The only people she could ask for sparring where Natsume and Kurumi, currently unavailable; Ryoga, more or less on the same chords, um, that's all. She would ask Ranma, but she knew it was just as useless as it was before. Boh, what could she lose, a little more pride? Not that she had much left, anyway.  
  
Ranma had not arrived yet. She didn't bother to look for him, he might be thanking his other fiancés for wrecking the wedding and she didn't need to see that. (Actually, he was running from a crazed Kodachi, swirling her ribbon at him and springing black rose petals on her way...).  
  
The one thing that did change was that Ranma took to walk by her side on their way to school. Akane didn't know what to make of it. Did he do it because he genuinely cared for her or he thought so little of her skills to defend herself against anyone? The first day she had been flattered about that, but the second and the third and then on she felt asfixiated. Ranma was hovering over her as a mother did over a little child, glaring menacingly at anyone who dared to come too near to her. Frankly, it was getting on her nerves.  
  
(The fact is that he kept guard on her most part of the day, never letting her out his sight. The memory of Phoenix mountain was still too fresh on his mind...).  
  
She sighed. She knew most girls would swoon over such a protective guy, but dammit! She was a martial artist... at least, she wanted to be one, if she ever found a way to get a good training. She wanted to stand on her own... why did nobody understand that? She managed to skip Ranma when going home and headed for the park. She sat on a bench, trying to fight back on tears, until it was too much for her and cried silently, her hands tighted into fists, till her knuckles were white and she drew blood. The physical pain sort of woke her up. A feeling of tiredness washed her soul. I need a change...  
  
(On with several scenes, Akane asking Ranma to coach her, the pig-tailed martial artist refusing, Ranma hovering over Akane, her not knowing he's around... Kasumi and Nodoka trying to make a good traditional wife out of her...)  
  
She didn't know how they managed to convince her to give a new try. Here it was, a whole Saturday afternoon spent trying to cook something with at least some resemblance to edible, all to nothing. No matter how hard she tried, she never got it right, oh well, except for the curry, but you cannot live on curry alone, can you? She felt drained. She had put so much effort, to no avail and just to show that perhaps she was maturing, she could have accepted Ranma refusing to eat her cooking, but did he have to insult her as well?  
  
She sat on her bed, clutching her pillow and staring through the window, too tired even to cry. What was the use? An air of despair surrounded her. Had she known how to control her chi, she could have shot a Perfect Shi Shi Houko Dan, no kiddin'. She felt sorry for Kasumi, who tried her best to teach her, even if she got on her nerves (Kasumi's human, you know). Good, old Kasumi, always trying to teach me something, too bad I'm such a klutz. Her head was resting on her knees. So what do I do now? I may as well give up.... She frowned. She was well known for being stubborn, a person who never gave up and now... she was admitting defeat? Yes, a stupid, bitter defeat. What are take-outs for, anyways? Well, nobody is perfect.  
  
Ok, conceed that, but anybody could be good at something at any point. What was she good at? Sports, right, but Ranma was so much better that her in any of them... well, except for skating, that is, but she was sure that given enough time (a week or two?), he would be a master. Is there anything left that she could do and do it right? Perhaps, her studies, that was the only thing that kept her going on... since she couldn't count either on martial arts... but she would not give up on this, not yet. Martial Arts ran in her family, in her own blood, she would be damned in she stopped practicing. She would find a way, oh yes, she would. Finally, the tears made their way out. 


	2. Ch 2 A friendly chat

I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever companies publishing her work around the world.  
  
A.N. I appologize for the editing of the first chapter, but on revising, I think I have nothing to change. There's no dialogue at all, just internal monologue, mostly from Akane if I'n not too mistaken (it's been a few days since I sent it to ffnet). AN2. After another review complaining about the editing, I tried to change it a little bit, I hope it gets easier to read this way.  
  
Anyway, just to make it clear : for thought '''' for dialogue  
  
CHAPTER 2. A FRIENDLY CHAT.  
  
There. He had done it again. She had just asked him to help her sparring and he had mocked her skills for the umpteeth time. She had been angry, no, furious about it but then anger had let way to pain and sadness and instead of hitting him as she usually did, she just ran away. She was wearing some sportive clothes, just for a change from her classical yellow gi, trying something she could wear to train and fight either in the dojo or in the street, like Ranma did.  
  
She walked slowly through the park, stopping by the lake and staring at her reflection. She held her image's gaze upon her. "I'm tired, so very tired..." she muttered to herself. That was when she felt something coming at her. She dodged just in time to avoid Mousse landing on her and crashing on the floor. She ran by his side and handled him his torn glasses.  
  
"Hi, Mousse, another love-round with Shampoo, I guess".  
  
Mousse looked at her, stunned. He had never expected sarcasm from Akane, that was more Nabiki's style. But he could not detect any smirk on her eyes, just sadness. It was not meant to be a biting remark, just ... a statement, that was it. She had just summarized his life in one sentence.  
  
"Yes, you're right. What about you?"  
  
He already knew the answer, the Nerima Wrecking Club members were so predictable...  
  
"Same for me with Ranma, no beating luckily".  
  
"Oh, you mean you didn't mallet Ranma to death?"  
  
Weird. Akane stopped on her tracks  
  
Crap! Why did I have to say that? Am I picking Ranma's "sticking foot on one's mouth" disease?.  
  
He was suprised when Akane started giggling and then laughing. She stopped after a few minutes and looked at Mousse, still smiling.  
  
"No, not this time, strange though it may seem to anyone- she looked at him and help him get on his feet.-We're both hopeless, you know?".  
  
"Yeah, I think I know what you mean. I've loved Shampoo for all my life and all I got from her is insults and beatings. No matter how hard I try, she still thinks I'm just some unworthy scum and should not even be allowed to be near her, just because I don't beat her to a bloody pulp. Can she ever understand that I could not bear to harm even a single hair out of her head? It is so difficult that this idea cannot go through her thick skull?"  
  
"Yes, I know, if she could only see that you really love her, but she has only eyes for Ranma..." Akane bowed her head, barely touching her chest. Ranma....  
  
She sighed. "I have been trying to show Ranma that I care for him, I have tried to learn to cook, even if I know most of the things I do are far from edible, I tried to look more femenine, I even stopped malleting and insulting him every minute of the day, I tried to get better at martial arts... all I was asking was a bit of encouragement, just a single nice word-she sighed- and what do I get? He insults my cooking, my looks, my skills. It seems I can never meet his standards..." She sighed again, her voice a bit cracked. They stood in silence looking at the water, lost in their own thoughts.  
  
"I'm so tired" they said simultaneously. They looked at each other, a sad smile acroos their faces.  
  
Akane relaxed, it was a long time she had felt a bit at ease with someone when talking about what she felt. She had never thought she would find Mousse as a confidant. She had P-Chan, but, oh, well, he sometimes got lost, he would not be pretty reliable.  
  
"Since we both need a shoulder to cry over our lifes, why don't we go for an ice-cream and drown our pains in it?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
Mousse scratched the back of his head. He should be heading for the Neko- hanten right now and help with the evening rush, but then, it's not that he would lose much profit that night, he wasn't there for the big pay he got.  
  
"Um, ok- he played with his pony-tail- You sure you don't mind?"  
  
"No, silly, I believe we have to get these things out of our system. I could give you more advice than your pillow and you can do the same for me, right? Even if we just listen to each other would be enough. More than we get at home, anyways. It's not like we're dating or something" she said, poking his ribs playfully.  
  
"Oh, who says we aren't? - Mousse hit back, a smirk across his face- Akane Tendo, will you go out on a date with me?" he said while bowing.  
  
Akane laughed, her hand pulling her hair behind her ear.  
  
"Of course, Mousse, I would be delighted to go on a date with you".  
  
Mousse offered his arm and Akane placed her own around it. They walked nonchalantly, talking and enjoying the moment.  
  
*************  
  
They went to the new ice-cream parlour in the mall, a nice place for all accounts and it wasn't too crowded to avoid any personal conversation. Mousse already knew most of the story about Akane and Ranma, he knew Ranma never (or almost never) pursued Shampoo on purpose (though he chose to ignore that most of the time), but didn't know much about how he treated Akane.. He had been there for the Saffron episode, about a month away now, and he had expected he had told her he really loved her, but after the wrecked wedding everything was just as before, if not worse.  
  
She didn't spare any good word about her own behaviour, she had her faults too, but at least, she had tried to change a little bit since the wedding, in the faint hope he would do the same. He knew Shampoo was even more agressive in her attempts to win Ranma and creating more havoc for the Tendo girl. He felt sorry for Akane, she did care about Ranma's opinion and every insult bugged her self-steem to the point where she was now, on the verge of depression. He began wondering how could Ranma save her from any monster coming around and then treat her like crap. He started thinking Ranma was the jerk Akane always claimed he was...  
  
"Well, enough about me- said Akane, giving a bit of attention to her milk- shake- now it's your turn "to spill your heart out" as writers say" she tapped her fingers over the table, urging him.  
  
"I don't know where to start..."  
  
"Well, why don't you start for the beginning, about your life in China? I would like to know a little bit more about Amazons".  
  
He did, indeed, spilled the story of his life for Akane, explained the different behaviour expected for males and females in their society, why he would never meet their expectations, earning different sorts of punishments from the elders for rebelling against what he thought were unfair and outdated laws, specially the ones about relationships. He stopped, his throat sore from the two hours-talk.  
  
He chuckled. "The old ghoul would probably break my bones if she got to know I told you about our traditions, but heck, I don't care any more what she thinks, I've had enough by now!".  
  
"Why are you staying there if they treat you so bad?" Akane asked in concern.  
  
"Do you really need to ask?" Mousse answered with a sigh.  
  
"Shampoo, right?  
  
"Yeah- he leaned on the wall, his look lost in some distant place away-. Sometimes I wonder if I'm becoming some sort of masochist, you know, those people that like pain inflicted upon them. I always thought that I didn't mind being hit, as long as it was Shampoo hitting me"  
  
He looked out the window and then turned to look at Akane again.  
  
"It is as we said in the park. I'm tired. I thought I would always love Shampoo, that perhaps in time she would come round to her senses and give me a chance. It didn't come in the past and I don't know if I have the strength or the will to wait for one in the future. All she wants is to become a great warrior, marry a great warrior and raise little warriors of her own, as if we still lived under the Ming Dinasty. She can't or doesn't want to see the times changed and we have to change with them if we want to survive. Cologne doesn't help either. In the village she's considered a high strategist, but I'm beginning to think her tactics might be grown old with her- he sighed.- I've been thinking about quitting my job at the Neko- hanten, but I have nothing else, I don't think it will be easy for me to find a new job...".  
  
They sighed in unison and gave a little smile.  
  
"You know, Akane, it was nice to have a little chat and share my worries with someone who could listen to me for a change."  
  
"Same goes for me, the only other people I could go and talk to is Kasumi, but she would say everything will be ok and some speech about meeting daddy's expectations and family honour... I really love her, she has been there for us when my mother died, I know she threw her own life away for my family, but frankly, I wish sometimes she would mature and get a life of her own. I don't think you can base your family life only on honour and duty, all I ask is a litte bit of love from Ra... from my future husband, but if he can't give me none, why support the case? -she sighed-. I'm glad you listened to me. Perhaps your view of Ranma is biased because of the Kiss of Marriage thing with Shampoo and my view of her too, but still, I don't think we could find any objective opinion on the subject out there" she waved the outside of the parlour.  
  
She looked at the clock on the wall.  
  
"Wow, we have been here for 3 hours now - she said, a bit surprised- I guess we really needed a talk. Shall we leave now?".  
  
"Yes, I'm yearning for Shampoo's loving embrace". Akane looked at Mousse, a bit stunned. They started laughing.  
  
"Yeah, and I'm looking forward to hear Ranma's poetry about me" Akane said, starting another fit of laughter until tears were running freely down their faces.  
  
"You know, Mousse, I never thought I could joke about this, I'm glad I found you in the park, you're a good friend" she squeezed his hand.  
  
"I'm glad too, you cannot imagine how much". He looked at his torn glasses and humphed. Most of his little pay went to buy new glasses, at a rate of 2 per day. Luckily he got some discount, but this had been his last pair, he would have to ask for another set.  
  
"Akane, I need to go to the optics, I need to buy some new glasses..."  
  
"Listen, Mousse, instead of glasses, why don't you buy yourself some contact lenses? I bet you spend a lot of money, with the amount of beatings you go thru. They're cheaper and easier to use, at least, that's what Nabiki says, she didn't like much her glasses, so she wears lenses most of the time. You could have a spare set of glasses for the times you're not wearing lenses."  
  
"Um, I don't know, I've never tried them. Aren't they unconfortable? You have to touch your eyes to wear them and I find it a bit creepy. What if I don't do it right and I got blinder than I am now?"  
  
"Don't worry, they will give you a few lessons how to put them on and off at the shop. Besides... -she looked at his eyes- you really have some beautiful eyes, it's a pity you don't show them" she said with a smile.  
  
Mousse blushed. He had inherited his violet eyes from his mother and loved the way they matched Shampoo's hair, but she had never paid attention, so when Akane complimented him, he felt... well, he felt fine.  
  
He smiled, nodding and Akane led the way. After half an hour, Mousse wore his lenses and felt as if a new man was born out of him. The world was clearer and except for the night, when he should put them off, he wouldn't have to care about his poor eyesight. Still, he wondered what would happen when he got changed to a duck. Would the lenses fall off his eyes? He crossed his fingers, hoping they didn't. The girl at the optics shop said they were pretty flexible, perhaps they would be adaptable enough for his cursed form. He walked Akane to her house and they waved goodbye.  
  
Akane went straight to her room. She watched the sun setting over the town, a little smile on her face. Perhaps she should recheck her concept of Mousse. Not too far away a similar thought crossed Mousse' head. 


	3. Ch3 Routines and plans

I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever companies publishing her work around the world.  
  
for thought '' '' for dialogue  
  
CHAPTER 3. ROUTINES AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.  
  
It didn't take long for Mousse and Akane to meet again at the park. With a simple nod, they headed for the ice-cream parlour. It was the same old story, so they didn't even talk about it. Why put more salt on the wound? They spent most of the evening talking about simple things (or maybe not so simple) as their dreams.  
  
Akane told him about her ideas for running the dojo. She had always been the one in the family interested in martial arts and had been the local champion for many years, that is, until Ranma stopped by and then all the mayhem started and she was cast out of the olympus. She was more than hurt for all the times she had asked him to help her and he refused with the excuse of no hitting her. So, he fought Shampoo, Ukyo, Kodachi and many more, but he would not fight her. It was kind of flattering in a way, but she had never wanted to play the role of damsel in distress, that was ok for films, but not for her life.  
  
Talking of dreams. Mousse had always wanted to study traditional medicine, but that was strictly forbidden for males in his society, unless an Elder chose to teach him.  
  
Hell would freeze before this ever happened, of course. Most men falling ill would indeed die unless they were treated outside their village, for Amazon women would refuse to help them. Men were some kind of disposable material. So one dies, well, we replace him. If he's not willing to cooperate, we make his life a hell until he commits himself or we put some spice in their food and he becomes some kind of slave. No wonder men died pretty young there. And males could count themselves lucky. At least, Chinese Amazons didn't kill males as the Greek founders used to do. Slavery was such a better idea.  
  
He had rebelled against those rules, with the help of his grandmother, who by some chance, didn't share the views of her warmates. She had told him time and again not to give away this secret, and in exchange, taught him all the medicine she knew and her martial arts school, Hidden Weapons, which he had perfectioned by working in a circus. She had even encouraged him to take an education at a nearby chinese school. Her talents could not match Cologne's but it was enough to make him survive.  
  
His grandmother had been wise enough to keep him away from Shampoo even after his defeat when they were three, but the damage was already done. He was already in love with the brave and careless Amazon girl. He had actively pursued her when the laws forbid that, he had lost the first match and could not ask for a second chance, unless Shampoo clearly stated she would give him one... which was not the case. And of course, telling a good word about him to her great-grandmother so he could learn medicine or even get some treatment for his sight was out of the question.  
  
So there they were, their dreams shattered in some way, because the person they wanted to share them with didn't give a damn about them or if they did, didn't care to show it. Akane (and Mousse too) had been pretty sure Ranma loved her after the Jusendo episode, but... doubt is a seed with a bitter taste, once planted in one's soul, you will feel it your mouth and engrained in your brain and it grew each passing day, unless stronger evidence against it is sown in your heart. So, bitterness overcame their souls. They said their goodbyes and headed home.  
  
Akane sat that night by the porch, staring at the koi-pond and sipping some tea, perhaps waiting for a koi jumping out of the water with an answer for her doubts. Ranma passed by and made one of his smart remarks about meditating tomboys. She failed to answer back. What was the use of all that bickering? She felt it wasn't worth the effort. She went to bed, feeling a cold void growing inside her.  
  
****************  
  
It didn't take too long for another meeting, just two days. This time she had to help Mousse get to a clinic when she found him on the floor near Furinkan High. Since the local doctor (Tofu was coming back soon, he told them) was pretty busy, Akane tended for Mousse's bruises when he handed her a first aid kit. He had nothing serious after all, though his arm hurt like hell. They thanked him and went for a stroll around the park. They walked in silence for a time. Akane motioned for a bench and they sat, facing each other.  
  
"Well, what happened this time?" she put her hand on his. "You know you can tell me".  
  
He looked at his feet and then at the park. "I tried to stop one's of Cologne's plots to win Ranma for Shampoo. This was my reward" he still wasn't looking at her, but hold her hand in his.  
  
"You mean those noodles she tried to feed him?"  
  
"Yeah, the same"  
  
"I see. Well, you're lucky, Ukyo started one of her usual fights with Shampoo about it and ended spilling it over the grass, so he scaped by a narrow chance." She smirked, remembering the episode. She had thought about stopping the chinese hussy handing Ranma her food, but then she walked by, she didn't see the need to receive her typical share of insults. Let him handle the little Amazon alone. Ukyo should be asking for a reward for helping him by now. She didn't want to see that either.  
  
"Remember the first time we had a little talk in the park?-Mousse was shaking in anger- I'm tired, I'm sick tired of it all, I guess today I crossed the threshold to reality and I stand here and see that all the love I ever had for Shampoo was useless and I made myself a fool for her. Today I tried to make her understand for the millionth time that whatever she got from a love potion would never be called love, she would just make a mindless robot out of Ranma, just like she was when Kira made her an slave to the Phoenix tribe, but she just doesn't care, and gave me a lecture about amazon law and honor. I told her she didn't have a clue as to was honor really is even if I threw it at her face... Man, she got mad. It's the first time I've defended myself physically against her, though I could not make myself use my weapons. She beat me senseless in a few minutes, I'm not very good at close combat. That was enough. After this, I know I won't be welcome at the Neko-hanten anymore, not that I regret it. I'll pick up my things now and look for some place to stay..."  
  
"Why don't you come to my house? There's plenty of space and Kasumi won't mind having a guest..."  
  
"Thanks, Akane, but I don't want to impose on your family... and I don't think I could stand Ranma right now.. He might not be the direct cause of my problems, I know he doesn't encourage Shampoo but he doesn't do anything to stop her from harassing him either. I'm not in the mood for a fight" he said with a hint of disgust.  
  
"Yeah, I guess, he would throw one of his smart-ass remarks and you will be at each other's throats in a second - she sighed.- It's a pity Dr. Tofu hasn't arrived yet, I was really glad to hear he would be back. You would be able to stay at his place-she stopped in mid-thought and them beamed- Mousse, maybe you can ask him to teach you some about medicine!"  
  
She gave him one of her trade-mark smiles, making Mousse think she was beyond cute. "Com'on! We have to plan about this! You can stay here in Japan and study medicine or quiropraxis. How far went your education?"  
  
"Um, I don't know if chinese and japanese systems can be made equal somehow, I finished school but I didn't have the chance to enrol for high school..."  
  
" No worries, then, Kasumi will tell us about some night classes, she took them to finish her highschooling. I hope you don't mind, you know, it might be weird if you had to enrol for first course at Furinkan now and share a class with people 2 years younger than you..."  
  
"No, I don't mind. And I guess I could camp somewhere near here, just as Ryoga when he's around."  
  
"And I could help you with your studies if you need it..."  
  
He looked at Akane while she was still talking, a small smile in his face. It was the first time since he had left China that someone had cared enough about him and encouraged him to do something he wanted. Perhaps... perhaps he could help her with her own dreams.  
  
"Ok, just as long as you let me help you with your own projects, right?"  
  
Akane looked puzzled.  
  
"Uh?"  
  
"I could help with your training. You know I'm not a great martial artist but we could learn something from each other and..."  
  
He could not continue as the air left his lungs, pushed by a fierce embrace from Akane. She looked thrilled. She let him go (specially when his face turned violet and then green) and then took his hand. "Thank you for being there".  
  
"It's me who should thank you".  
  
"Well, what the hell? Between friends... The perfect way to end our little meeting: race you for an ice-cream! Loser pays!"  
  
She left him dazed on the clinic bench and ran for the door, while running and making faces at him. After a few seconds, Mousse gathered his senses and ran after her.  
  
"Hey! That's cheating!" he screamed laughing.  
  
************  
  
They were enjoying a milk-shake in silence some time later. Akane looked at the chinese boy, like pondering something. After a few seconds, she made up her mind.  
  
"Uh, Mousse, there's... something I've wanted to know for a while. I know little about your culture, most from what you told me the other day. If I'm not too mistaken, amazons take great pride about being female. But, frankly, the way Shampoo behaves puzzles me. It's kinda... the opposite, like she's throwing herself at Ranma every chance she gets. I wouldn't say that's ..."  
  
" ...doesn't look like Amazon ways? You're 100% right. I can't understand how an Elder like Cologne would allow her great-grand daughter doing that. I did remind Shampoo of her own behavioural code this morning and you see the results. I guess this is some kind of trap for Ranma, making him see Shampoo's good side so he acknowledges our marriage laws and goes back to China with them. They know he won't be able to leave the village once he puts his feet there, the Elder's Council will make sure of that. The Phoenix tribe are not the only ones to do that trick with the magical eggs, you know".  
  
Akane sat pensive, her head on her hand.  
  
"I wonder how Ranma would look playing the househusband..."  
  
They looked at each other and broke in laughter.  
  
" Hehehe, too good, you picture him with an apron and a child on his back, doing the dishes?"  
  
"Mwhahahahaha!"  
  
The rest of the people at the ice-cream shop were giving them weird looks.  
  
After some minutes and deep breathing, they calmed a little bit.  
  
"Ouch, my abs! I haven't laughed like this in ages..." Akane was rubbing her stomach, it ached like hell.  
  
Mousse was trying to get his contact lenses in its proper place, he was crying so much. He sighed. "Thanks, Akane, I really needed this"  
  
"Me, too. Hey, we should do this more often" She offered her hand to help his on his feet and they left the local.  
  
************  
  
When she went back home, she was surprised to see Ranma standing by the porch. He didn't say a word, though, just nodded his head.  
  
Was he waiting for me? she wondered.  
  
"I'm home" she announced, while taking off her shoes. She waved her hand at Ranma and passed by in the way to the kitchen. She knew she was late for dinner, but hoped that the Saotome's Vacuum Cleaner Ltd TM would have spared some leftovers.  
  
She wasn't disappointed and wolfed them down, while going through her chat with Mousse. Today was the beginning of something new. A new hope. She had almost gave up all her dreams and had despaired she would have to submitt to any idea Ranma and their parents had for their marriage, that is, that he would run the dojo and she would got to play the housewife and children- bearer. Even if she didn't mind caring for a family, she had other ideas in mind. She would need to talk to Ranma about it sometime soon.  
  
*************  
  
The way to school was a nice occasion to try for a little chat. Ranma was walking on the fence as usual. After Jusendo, he had walked occasionally by her side, but stopped when the rumor horde began making a soap-opera out of that. She didn't know if she should be disappointed. She cleared her throat. "Say, um, Ranma, er, can we talk a bit?"  
  
"Uh? 'bout what?".  
  
She blushed a bit.  
  
"Um, about. about us. I mean, not as a couple but.um, er, well, you know, the engagement thing and, uh, the future." Crap! Why can't I talk to him about these things as I can do with Mousse?  
  
Ranma blushed a bit, he had been thinking about the same lines for the past few weeks, but could not bring himself to make any move. He still was unsure about Akane's reasons to go all out for the wedding, after, what, nearly two months?.  
  
Did she do it only so I could get a cure?. She certainly hadn't hit him that much after that, but it just made him uneasy around her. She even showed some signs of uneasiness when he was around too much. He was no fool not to detect it. Just give her some personal space, so he went back on his patterns before the Saffron affair.  
  
He didn't want anything to change around him. He had spent so many years in the wild with his father, with nothing stable, nothing to call his own, no friends, no real family. Staying with the Tendos had been his first approach to a real life and then when all his enemies and fiancés appeared, he enjoyed being the center of attention, something he never got from his careless father. He just wanted to take things easy and enjoy his martial arts and his life and, um, well, spending some time with the tomboy. Did I just think that?.  
  
But he didn't want any change, that was clear. Deep down he knew if he made any choice, a lot of people would be hurt and he would lose the few closest people he would consider as friends. So he decided to keep his role on the play and say his lines.  
  
"Geez, Akane, by this time you should already know I'm not marrying an uncute tomboy like you" and stuck his tongue at her.  
  
Akane stopped. Why do I bother to ask?. It hurt, god, it still hurt to hear the same insults. I won't be for him anything but a tomboy - she bowed her head low, a mischivious smile in her face- well, let's give him his tomboy. She flashed a sidekick to the fence, making him stumble and fall to the puddle of water in the bottom.  
  
"Man, that was soooooo uncute!". Ranma-chan said while adjusting her clothes.  
  
Akane kept walking, not caring about Ranma following her. Triggering the change had appeased her in the past, she knew he hated his curse, so whenever he hurt her, she would make sure to make him change if water was available. But now, it didn't give her any confort. I must be really tired. and she headed for school, her head still down, not even looking at Kuno when she kicked him into LEO, sparing the crowd his endless poetry. She sat by the window, looking at the horizon and sighed.  
  
This is just a non-ending, vicious cycle, but do I want to take part in it? She fixed her eyes on the grounds and saw Ranma-chan trying to escape from a ribbon-armed Kodachi. She didn't get angry, though, just sad.  
  
Well, I can't make Ranma change, but I can change my life enough to not be engulfed in his chaos. Then the bell rang and she decided to pay some attention to her class. This might very well be the first day of the rest of her life. 


	4. Ch4 Outcasted

I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever companies publishing her work around the world.  
  
A.N. I forgot to appologize for my English, it's not my mother tongue, so I guess I make mistakes now and then. Be gentle, please (if anyone cares to read this, that is)  
  
for thought '''' for dialogue CHAPTER 4. OUTCASTED!  
  
The day seemed to go easier and peaceful without worrying about Ranma and the chaos around him. Classes were ok, she really wanted to go to college and get a degree in Phys Ed, she badly wanted to run the family's dojo and earn some respect. She went for a walk around the nearest park, hoping to find Mousse there and see how he was faring. She stopped by the doctor first, since she wanted to ask for Dr. Tofu when she heard some familiar voice moaning softly. She ran inside, to find Mousse on a stretch, his arm in a sling and sporting some nasty bruises on his face and chest.  
  
"My, Mousse! What happened?"  
  
"A honor and amazon law-round with Cologne before she asked me politely to leave and never put a foot in the Neko-hanten.or our village, for what matters..."  
  
"Why? That old bitch! -even Akane was surprised by the venom in her voice- She had no right to do that!- She looked at his things, wrapped in a cloth bundle on the floor.- Your stuff? Fine, I will take it to my house, you're staying with us for a few days until you find some job and a place to stay. And no "but" me or I'll cook stuffed-duck for dinner".  
  
Mousse gulped loudly. He had heard that kind of threat too many times, but at least he knew the first option did not endanger his or any other dignity's, as his Amazon-mates' did (plus, Akane's cooking may endanger other innocent people). He nodded and made for his things, but Akane was faster and swung the bundle over her shoulder and took his hand.  
  
They walked in silence. She opened the door and let Mousse pass.  
  
"I'm home. Kasumi, um, I brought Mousse home, I would like he could stay with us for a few days if you don't mind, he was thrown out the Neko-hanten and has nowhere else to go and he's hurt and." she was talking fast, a display of emotions in her voice: worry, anger, sadness.  
  
"Shush, it's ok, he's welcome, he can stay at grandfather's room, since he's not in sight now. I hope you don't mind spending a few days in what was Happosai's room"  
  
"Er, no, thanks, Kasumi, that would be great for me. I can even exorcise the room if you want" he said with a smile.  
  
Kasumi giggled a bit and motioned him to follow her upstairs.  
  
Mousse unpacked his things and put his robes in the closet, while Kasumi drag a futon from the attic with Akane's help. They tucked a few sheets and watched Mousse as he lit some incense sticks and chanted some strange verses in supposedly mandarin chinese. He bowed.  
  
"It's done. That should clean this room from any ifluence it might have gotten from the former occupant" He smiled shily, while scratching the back of his head.  
  
"Would you like some tea?" Kasumi, the perfect housewife, ever. They went to the kitchen and while sipping some tea, Akane told her about Mousse' plan to get some education. She gave him some good advice and promised to talk with one of her teachers at night school for a late enrolment.  
  
"Thanks, Kasumi, you're the best". Akane hugged her fiercely.  
  
Dinner was nice, Mousse and Akane had helped in the kitchen and miraculously, no one ended sick (though a bit of Alka-seltzer was nice) and the fire department could go to rest for a night more. Ranma did not agree, since he got a nice imprint of Akane's hand on his cheek for appraising her cooking. Akane watched the stars, sitting by the porch. It's fun having Mousse around, at least he helps intead of making a competition out of every single second. She yawned. Time for bed.  
  
Kasumi was glad to have Mousse around in the house helping wherever he could, it would take a week or so before he could get the sling off. She showed him to the night school and got all the papers done, even a little visit to the Foreigner's Office, to check his passport and renew his student visa, this time for real studies. So much to be done, but he had started his own path with an unexpected but welcomed help. Perhaps he should even thank Cologne for making him an outcast.  
  
Even Nabiki got to help him (for a price, of course) about finding a part- time job for a student as a waiter in a night-club. The pay was ok and did not mess up much with his schemes for school. He would have to take two advanced courses if he wanted to finish this year, but at least he got Akane to help him, yeah, life was fair for once.  
  
****************  
  
Ranma was not that happy to have Mousse at home, even if he didn't try to fight, he still suspected he would be after him, claiming his endless love for Shampoo and trying to bash him for taking her away from him. Both Akane and Mousse tried to clear the situation for him, but he didn't bought it, not totally, at least. I can't believe Cologne would allow that, without killing Mousse first, but if I got only one less out there to go after me, well, fine by me.  
  
The next day Shampoo broke into the house by her usual "make door on wall" tactics and humphed at Mousse.  
  
"What silly duck-boy doing here? You marry pervert-girl, so airen all mine?" She smiled at Ranma, now gulping very loudly, and served him a ramen bowl. "Eat too, too good ramen, not silly miso soup".  
  
Now, nobody makes a comment of that kind about Kasumi's cooking and gets on his way! Kasumi smiled and held Shampoo's wrist.  
  
"I'm glad you decided to stop by and give Ranma this little present, but I'd rather you did it by the front door. As for food, I would say he gets enough of equilibrated diet here, he can go anytime where you work and get a snack, right? Now if you would like to leave, please? I would like to serve breakfast." Her grip on Shampoo's wrist was pretty strong, though she never lost her sweet smile. The chinese cook left, her eyes wide open.  
  
Mousse hadn't said a single word, he even refused to look at Shampoo. His lips were tightly closed.  
  
"My, didn't they teach her manners at her village? No offence meant for you, Mousse."  
  
The rest of the household kept staring at her without saying a word. Better not being on Kasumi's bad side, one never knows.Perhaps even Kasumi had had enough of all the mayhem.  
  
So, for a few days, Akane and Mousse would study together before and after dinner since he got a lot of work to catch up. Ranma tried to join the first day, but got bored after fifteen minutes and began playing with his pencil, until Akane gave him a free ticket to the pond. It would be nearly a week since Mousse moved when Shampoo made another attempt to buy Ranma with food at the Tendo's. Akane gave her a furious glare. Mousse still didn't say a word.  
  
"What silly Mousse doing here? He be shame to Amazon village, should not allow to stay with other people, specially with airen"  
  
"He's welcome into my house, I can't say the same about you" shot Akane, she was indeed getting angry.  
  
"Hey, cut that out, her noodles are great!" Ranma, who else, stuffing himself with the food the chinese girl brought.  
  
Shampoo gave her a mischivious smile. Akane was fuming by now.How... how dare he!  
  
"This is not ." 'your house' she stopped before finishing; that would have been. too much, definitely. He was a guest after all, he might have to take the host's uses as they came, but a little bit of politeness from the host was asked.  
  
"I've lost my appetite". She left the table and headed for the furo, to cool off.  
  
Kasumi looked at her little sister, she could guess too easily what she was about to say. Thank the lord, she had somehow managed to swallow it. Shampoo was glowing in her victory and rubbing against an uncomfortable Ranma. Certainly, he had inherited his father's lust for food, he left himself get dragged almost to anything for a free meal. He surely had behind a lot of years with little or nothing to eat, but still.  
  
"Shampoo, would you please help me out in the kitchen? It will be just a minute." She said that with her best, warmest smile.  
  
Shampoo complied. She followed Kasumi and sat where she was ordered.  
  
"Shampoo, correct me if I' wrong. You belong to a matriarchal society, that' right? Where the mother or grandmother is the head of the clan -she nodded her head, waiting for Shampoo to say something-; then, I guess that for your tribe, I am the head of the Tendo clan, right?"  
  
"Yes, nice-girl head of family, not silly tear-man"  
  
'My, don't they teach a bit of diplomacy in their village' Kasumi rolled up her eyes. She took a deep breath. "Then, as the head of the clan, I'm going to ask you to stop coming here unless I personally call for you. You can see Ranma whenever or wherever you want except when he's here. You do not want to put further strain into our respective clans relationships, do you?"  
  
Shampoo had paled, she had paled so much you could tell she looked like a ghost. She'd have to consult this with her great-grandmother. She bowed to Kasumi and left.  
  
Kasumi left out her breath, she had been holding it up for the whole speech. She had never done something of this kind, it was much against her nature, but she felt she had to do it. The way the other fiancés were behaving was umpolite, if not shameful. She did not want her little sister to make a fool of herself or being mocked by the other girls, at least not in her own home. She started preparing lunch for the next day, she needed to calm down.  
  
After an hour, Akane left for her room. She didn't want to see anybody, not her family in any case, and specially, not Ranma. The following week, Mousse picked his belongings and moved to a little flat near the park where Akane and him usually met. They established an schedule for study time and sparring and went at it with a hunger and thrill they didn't expect. 


	5. ch5 Life goes on

I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever companies publishing her work around the world.  
  
for thought, sometimes '' '''' for dialogue  
  
Chapter 5. Life goes on  
  
A few days later, they got good news: Tofu was back in town, apparently from a long training trip in China and Nepal to cure himself from the effects a certain person had on him... They held a small party at the dojo and to everyone's surprise, Ono was able to make an intelligible and coherent conversation with Kasumi, even asked for a date! Soun's wails could be heard in the background about his little (?) Kasumi growing up.  
  
Following day. After school, Akane ran to the clinic. She wanted to talk with Tofu and his colleague about helping Mousse. Working hours were finished by now, so she hoped to get some time to have a little chat with the doctor and do some catch up. She smiled, Tofu was a great friend too, she hoped he would help Mousse. Well, she could use her best smile... she giggled at the thought, her crush long forgotten.  
  
She knocked at the door. The good doctor opened.  
  
"Oh, Akane, welcome! Hope you're not in any serious trouble, are you? Kasumi was telling me some of your adventures".  
  
She blushed a little bit. She had had a great time, well, perhaps not at the moment, but they sure were fond memories. Anyways, she didn't want to live on her past.  
  
"Ah, well, yes, we all had an interesting year since you left...".  
  
They were doing some small chat around Kasumi's cookies, good as always. Tofu went on about where he had been, even his little interview with the Dalai Lama.  
  
"Um, doc, I would like to ask you a favour, if you don't mind."  
  
"Go on, Akane"  
  
"Well, you see.-she explained in short Mousse interest about medicine and his troubles within the Amazon tribe- and, well, I thought you could help him, if you don't mind, you know, teach him something. I believe he already knows something about traditional medicine, but he would like to learn some more. Could you help him, please, please, please?" she gave him her best pleading smile.  
  
Tofu smiled softly. "Of course, Akane. I think I would like a hand with massages. I will ask him if he might be interested"  
  
"Thank you, doc, you're the best! I'm sure he'll be delighted! You don't know how much this means to him"  
  
She hugged the doctor.  
  
Kasumi got up and waved goodbye to the good doctor, Akane by her side. They walked in silence, enjoying the warmth of the sun on their backs.  
  
Kasumi coughed. "May I ask you, why are you helping Mousse, Akane?" -she asked, a little frown on her forehead.  
  
"Well, he's a friend, he's had a hard life and some rough times lately. I just want to help him and make his life a little easier. I think he deserves something better, don't you?"  
  
"I'm glad you're so kind to help your friends. I just wondered why don't you treat Ranma that way too. I would like to think he's a friend of yours, too" Worry was written all over her face. Akane's smile vanished at the mention of her fiancé's name.  
  
"Ranma doesn't need my help, he's made it clear enough a thousand times". That was a sore spot.  
  
"Com'on, Akane, you know that's not true, he seeks your help for school and a lot of other things."  
  
"Really? I couldn't say" Bitterness distilled in her voice, one could almost smell it.  
  
"Now, Akane, that was really mean. You know he helps him whenever you're in trouble".  
  
"I know, sorry- she sighed- Well, I promise I will help him whenever he asks me" She took a deep breath. Good point. He was too proud to ask for help, so she was already free from her promise. Kasumi frowned. She didn't like this too much.  
  
****************  
  
Akane took her books and went to meet Mousse, all eager to tell him about Tofu. Mousse nearly bowed and kissed her feet, he was so grateful, but Akane dismissed it with a wave of her hand and motioned him for the table to get their work done. Weekend was near so he would be able to save some hours and visit the doctor.  
  
The workout was nice too. He needed to have his time all taken, doing something or he'd go nuts. You don't spend 13 years of your life after the girl of your dreams and then quit like nothing has happened.  
  
He had gone through his life over and over again. The first days in his new apartment, all alone, knowing that this independence and his inability to see Shampoo again was his own doing, had tore at his heart. It had been a complete hell. Except for the few hours he spent with Akane, he just wanted to find some dark corner and die. He had been unable to sleep, trying to stop himself from rushing to see her beloved amazon, he had drawn blood from his lips and the palm of his hands trying to control himself.  
  
It was hard, he felt like he had ripped his own heart and then swallowed it.  
  
Well, it tasted awfully. But he had to succeed. He went over all the humilliations he had suffered from Shampoo or Cologne, how he had been the laughing stock of the village, both for his near-sight and his stupid pursuit of the girl of his dreams.  
  
He sighed. He needed to close the door to his past or it will come and haunt him every night. Good thing he had something else to think about, his studies. He had always thought he would be here for a short time, until he could win. no, better not to tread that path. His life had a new goal. He took a deep breath, then another. 'Bie la, Xian Pu'.  
  
************  
  
The following Saturday morning Mousse stepped by Tofu's clinic.  
  
"Good morning, Mousse. I hope you're doing fine. How's your arm?"  
  
"'Morning, doc. It's healing pretty fine, thanks, I have been going easy at work during the week and kept the training at minimun, but I guess I can go all out by now"  
  
"I'm happy to hear that, Akane told me what happened with Cologne. I must say I'm surprised she would react that way. I assume she's getting a lot of pressure from your Council back in China"  
  
"Probably, I guess they're not too happy that she's out of the village for more than one year, still with no clear results, but that's no longer my problem. She expelled me from the tribe" he gave a lopsided, bitter grin.  
  
"Can she do that on her own? I'd have thought it took the Council to decide over such a subject"  
  
"No, in fact it is the Elder's Council who must say if I should be outcasted or not, but, you see, I never cared to make myself too popular back in our village. They have a pretty thick file on me. She must have sent her petition on the day she kicked me out of the Neko-hanten and it must be approved by now, I guess. I don't think I will get a letter from them, anyway".  
  
They both chuckled. Mousse sighed.  
  
"I guess my grandmother would be worried about me and she might face some trouble, but I think she knew that sooner or later something like this would happen. It doesn't make it any easier, though". He looked at the floor and sighed.  
  
"Well, since you're an outcast now, can't you challenge Shampoo for her hand? You'd be a stranger from 'their' law point of view."  
  
Mousse frowned. "I'd rather you didn't mention her at all, doc. There's.-he took a deep breath- I suppose I was just a fool to pretend that she might like me for who I am, I never wanted to impose myself on her or fight her. I just dreamed that she would love me willingly, but it was just a dream. I just decided I had to wake up before the dream would turn to a nightmare, that's all. So, no, I won't challenge her"  
  
Tofu looked at the young man in front of him. He had gone to a lot of thinking lately to come to this point. And it had been hard, he could tell. If he got to channel his energy, he'd fire a perfect Shi Shi Houko Dan without much trouble (Kasumi had put him on tabs about everyone, so he knew about Ryoga and his trips to Depression Land). Better change the subject.  
  
"So, about medicine, care to tell me what that wonderful grandmother of yours taught you?"  
  
They went over old maps of meridians of energy and the kind. He had some minor knowledge of pressure points and botany, nothing to be surprised, since amazons lived in a very isolated area in the mountains, pretty much the example of a sustainable development society about the use of natural resources (the human resources were another question.). Well, it was nice to be back in town.  
  
************  
  
Their plan had been going on for about a month and Akane felt great. Her grades were getting really high, since she spent a lot of time studying with Mousse and not trying to convince Ranma about the benefits of an education.  
  
The Chinese boy was really smart and knew a good deal about history, biology and chemistry. His worst were maths (who in the world doesn't have problems with maths) and physics. Their talents combined overcame any difficulty.  
  
Well, almost any difficulty. She still had to learn how to control her anger, Mousse pondered. Whenever she failed to dodge his weapons or took too much time (to her reckoning) to learn a move, she got frustrated and eventually angry in a few seconds time. Mousse would try to calm her with words, but it didn't help.  
  
Plus, when they sparred, she tended to rush head-first into the fight and tried to finish it as soon as possible. She had no sense of strategy at all. Mousse had spent the first week from their agreement to this plan to devise something to develop her sense of timing for battle.  
  
Flash back  
  
His work in the bar wasn't so hard that he had to put his brain on it, he mostly worked on auto-pilot. After all, preparing cocktails was a lot easier than some Chinese dishes he was used to cook and work at the Neko- hanten had been a lot harder. This was more some sort of vacation.  
  
So, between margaritas and san franciscos, he tried to think of something useful. Until one day, he just got a good look at the floor. This is maybe one of the things you mostly see, but you just don't acknowledge, because usually, this kind of information is of no use; but this was not a usual occasion.  
  
Black and white squared-pattern. Chess. The master-game of strategy.  
  
He gave out a maniacal laugh, until he noticed the looks he was getting from the clients.  
  
"Hehehe." Man, I should really forget doing this.. He scratched his head and smiled.  
  
The music was loud and people got to their business again. Uffff.  
  
Then he went on his rumbling. Would Akane learn to play chess? She didn't have much patience, well, to be sincere, he would change it to no patience at all. Chess took time to master. The good thing is, she was good at maths and physics, finding the logic and patterns behind the problems, so it might help.  
  
How to present it? That was a problem, too. While squeezing lemons for the caipirinha, he pondered the many ways to face the question.  
  
'Hey, 'kane, would you like to learn to play chess' She's not a 6 year-old, forget it.  
  
'I got this cool game, I thought you may like to play' It's not the Play- station, either.  
  
'I think you need to learn to play chess, so you will be able to plan your fights' Yeah, right, and he would get a nice punch in the stomach, at the very least. At least she had conceeded not to use her mallet.  
  
He remembered the first time they sparred. She was strong, nothing like Ryoga, but still strong (didn't Ranma make fun of her all the time because of that?); she was more or less in his league, and her punches hurt, he had been left breathless after she got a pretty precise hit to his abds.  
  
He sighed. This would definitely help her skill in martial arts. But what to do? He knew she longed to be considered a good martial artist and receive challenges like everyone else did. Wait! He grinned. I've got it!  
  
The following day was a sunny Sunday. He got up late, because he took a long shift at work, but then remembering about his little plan, he smiled and jumped out of bed. He didn't spend much time to get a shower, wear his clothes and make his room a bit tidy, Japanese flats were so damn small.  
  
He phoned to the Tendo Dojo, they were supposed to be meeting in the afternoon, but he just couldn't wait to test his idea.  
  
"Good morning, Akane- she mumbled something that barely resembled a good morning too-think you can spare the morning and rush here? I think you may like this technique I came upon. if you think you're up to the task."  
  
"What? A new technique? I'm on!!!" There was no trace of sleepiness in her voice now.  
  
"Well, yes, I think you might be interested in having a look at it. But it's hard to master, so I won't blame you if you decide not to try."  
  
"No way! You can bet I'll master it today! I'll be there in half an hour". She hung up the phone.  
  
Hook, line and sinker. He smiled, it had been so easy to goad her. He made sure to prepare a lot of tea with a spike of lindon flower to keep her calm. It might be a long day, after all.  
  
She was punctual and wore sport clothes, thinking they would leave for the park soon. She was surprised to see Mousse take a seat by the table, a checkered board and some weird pieces arranged on it.  
  
"Well, where's that cool technique I should have a look at?"  
  
"Sit down and I will show you" he waved his hand, motioning her for a chair. She frowned, she had readied herself for some good workout and they were going to stay home? She sighed and complied.  
  
Mousse went over the rules of chess, repeating over and over again the moves every piece could perform.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I get it! Bishops only in diagonal from their start point, towers horizontal and vertical. Get on with it! Is this the oh-so-difficult- technique you told me about? I'll beat you in five minutes"  
  
Mousse bit his lips, trying to suppress a laugh.  
  
"Ok -he sighed- let's get started"  
  
She was out in four, I mean, FOUR movements. She watched the board and then Mousse, clearly astounded.  
  
"I want another try, that was just warming up"  
  
A little better, five moves this time.  
  
"Another!"  
  
That shout, with a growing amount of red battle aura, were felt through the building for about two hours, when Mousse decided enough was enough. That and that he had ran out of tea and he feared the chair would melt under Akane's firing rage.  
  
"Com'on, Akane, let's go out for a run in the park, we can pick up where we left"  
  
She was staring at the board, a look of utter defeat in her face.  
  
"But. but."  
  
"I told you it was a difficult technique. It took me months to learn how to play chess, you cannot expect to master it in one day" She still had that look, like she was about to cry.  
  
"Com'on, we need some fresh air, it will clear up your mind. You cannot face a battle if you're not focused on it, right?"  
  
He pulled her out of the chair. They walked out of the building, heading for the park.  
  
"Chess is more than a game, it IS a good technique, you will know how to use it for your martial arts when the time comes. It's just like a battle, only you just use your mind. Don't worry, you will get the hang of it soon"  
  
They made some stretches and ran around the park at an easy pace, enjoying the nice weather and feeling the late spring air filling their lungs. They jumped over the benches, sending an occasional kick to each other.  
  
Akane's rage was subsiding. She went over the rules, trying to come up with a trick to win. She was munching all the games she had lost (more than 20 was that?) and scowled. She had been too forward in her play and moved her pieces without order or clear purpose.  
  
After an hour running, she said goodbye to Mousse and went home for lunch. Her father and Genma were playing Go. For the first time in her life she paid attention to the game, but after 10 minutes it was crystal clear that the two men didn't give a damn about rules and cheated whenever they could. She sighed and ate her lunch, making some small chat with Ranma and Kasumi.  
  
She met Mousse in the park, the chess game on his bag. They had agreed to play out, just to take in the sun (mostly to avoid internal-building damages, from Mousse' point of view).  
  
So they played. At least Akane tried. She kept losing the whole time and she was getting pretty annoyed, but still held to the board, like the stubborn girl she was. By the end of the evening her battle aura was flaring red and the wood pieces seemed like they would burn some time soon.  
  
"Eh, Akane, let's call it quits for today, okay? It's getting late. We can play tomorrow after doing the homework."  
  
"Fine" she growled.  
  
Uh oh. There might be some cinderblocks turned to dust somewhere in a very near future, Mousse pondered. Well, she will have to think over this. He smiled as he saw her walk home, her head a little bent down. He was so sure it wouldn't take too long before she could put chess to good use.  
  
**********  
  
Umph! New technique indeed! She was moping in her bedroom. Mousse had played a joke on her. What the hell had that stupid game to do with martial arts? She pouted. And the worse is she had accepted the challenge to learn how to play, so she was stuck with it. Big sigh.  
  
So they played a game or two of chess every evening. A week had gone by and he had to buy a new game, the board smashed in splinters in a rage fit from a certain raven-haired girl. He had hesitated between a wooden or a metal one, but opted for the first. Metal tended to stay hot for a bit, after all.  
  
The third week since he moved out of the Tendo's (the second week since they started playing chess) and Akane managed to stay calm and actually paid some attention to the game. There was still hope for her.  
  
End of flash back  
  
Akane sighed, enjoying the bath, today's training had been pretty good. She had learnt a lot of stuff about weapons during this moth (though she was already familiar with archery, bokkens, katanas and the kind) and started wearing shuriken in her arms with a few little tricks to make them available at any time without showing them clearly.  
  
She picked some blind-fighting skills, which were Mousse's speciality, since he had to fight a lot of time without his glasses, so she became more aware of her surroundings and it was difficult to sneak upon her now. She improved her balance to use it in combat.  
  
In exchange she taught Mousse some techniques from her own school of martial arts so he would become more proficient in short range fights while still being able to use his long range weapons.  
  
The best was... that he took her seriously. Surely, being grown in a village where females were the warriors did help. He had not much prejudice about hitting her (seems he was only reluctant to hit Shampoo), even if he pulled his punches to a little up her level of skill. The first days she had been sore from a few well-placed kicks and sported some bruises in her arms from his weapons, but she learnt how to avoid or minimize damage. This was like the basics of martial arts, learning how to take a fall. Yeah, life was just fine.  
  
Oh, well, maybe not everything was fine, she still had to master that dumb (ok, not so dumb) game, though today had not been that bad. It really made her think.  
  
She was going through this musings when she just remembered Ranma. Her fiancée. The man she should be spending her time with, as Kasumi often reminded her in a kind way. Not that Mousse didn't deserve her help, not at all, but she wished Ranma was just a bit like the amazon man. She could not avoid feeling like, somehow, she was betraying Ranma by staying most of the evening with Mousse. Was Kasumi succeeding in her plan to make her feel guilty?  
  
***************  
  
She left the question open for the following day. Still, school wasn't a great opportunity to try and talk to him about any issue, innocent though might be, 'cause invariably, Kuno, Ukyo, Shampoo, Ryouga or someone else would make an appearance and snatch him from her, or he would put into work his big mouth and after hearing the first insult she would ran away. She no longer had the energy to feel angry. She had enough at venting her little frustrations in her sparrings with Mousse.  
  
How could they be so different? When they were training, Mousse would be really helpful, making comments about what she was doing wrong and ways to correct it and in time she did the same about his ways, it took most of her stress away and brought her a little of self-confidence. Why couldn't Ranma do the same?  
  
With this question in mind, she decided it was time for a sparring match with the pig-tailed martial artist. Mousse had a test to take, so he would spend the evening studying. She headed home and once there, motioned for the kitchen, to find Mrs. Saotome with an apron and helping Kasumi with the dinner.  
  
"Hello, Akane, dear. Would you like to give us a little help with the cooking?" she said with a warm smile. She certainly didn't give up the idea to make of Akane a great cook.  
  
"Er, well, I think I will pass, if you don't mind, I was thinking about asking Ranma to spar with me..." she scratched her head nervously.  
  
"Certainly, you should spend as much time as you can with your fiancée". Nodoka smiled. They made such a cute couple!  
  
Akane gulped and left, a slight blush in her cheeks. She changed into her gi and went to the dojo. Ranma was already there, going through a kata. She watched as he went through the moves, swiftness, strength and grace in every turn. She did wish she could learn to do that with his ease. Once he had finished she coughed to get his attention. "Um, hi, Ranma"  
  
"Hey, Akane"  
  
"Um, I was... thinking if we could spar a bit..."  
  
"You kiddin'? Geez, Akane, you're too slow and too much of a klutz to spar with me..." he said while making faces.  
  
Akane crossed her arms over her chest and breathed deeply.  
  
"I guess I'm not too much of a martial artist to your standards, but I do want to get better. So, I'm asking you again, would you care to spar with me?". She was as near to begging as her pride would allow her.  
  
"Nope, why would I want to waste my time with an uncute tomboy like you?" I really don't want to hurt you, when in the world will you understand that?!.  
  
Akane frowned and willed herself not to cry, she breathed raggedly while her battle, crimson aura flared around her.  
  
"Fine, have it your way".  
  
She left the dojo. She trodded to her room and sat on her bed, holding her knees. All my efforts to no avail... should have known better. She changed her clothes and went for a walk. She didn't want to be caught by either Kasumi or Nodoka, she was not in the mood to face Ranma's mother. She went to the library and spent the evening there, going through some old, overused-martial arts essays. Perhaps she would find something interesting.  
  
************  
  
Nodoka walked up to the dojo, with a bowl of cookies for the martial artists. She frowned when she saw Akane was not there.  
  
"Son, would you happen to know where is your fiancé? She told me you two would be sparring and I brought you some cookies".  
  
"Aw, thanks, mom, they're great -Ranma said, snatching the bowl from his mother's hands and gulfing them down.  
  
He was not escaping that easily, the look Nodoka was giving him told very clearly.  
  
"Aw, she's too weak to take my blows, I'm better off training by myself..."  
  
"Son, I hope you'll understand than if you take up the dojo, your students will be under your level. This is a good chance to train and spend some time with your fiancé too"  
  
"Ok, mom, I'll think about that".  
  
Nodoka left for the kitchen, shaking her head. Too stubborn....  
  
************  
  
Akane was taking notes. Surely the trip to the library showed to be pretty useful. She got a pair of books about kung fu, nothing new, really, but it didn't hurt to review the basics. She had taught Mousse almost everything she knew, though she recognised she still had a lot to learn about weapons and about her own school, but she didn't have any illusions about her father or Genma teaching her.  
  
So she'd have to find something new in another place or stick to weapons. Even if her family school had a tendency to use them, she did not like to depend on them. It was better to come up for many different types of defence, relying on a single weapon made one helpless once disarmed.  
  
Well, perhaps she had already learnt something from chess, although it was indeed a bitter pill: she just didn't think when she was fighting and she left herself open. She had always believed that the first to strike was more likely to win if he struck hard enough, but after more than a hundred defeats in chess to Mousse in less than three minutes, she had finally began to prepare carefully the battles.  
  
And not only at chess. The spars were a little less violent and took a lot longer, since she tried to save her energy for a last blow and tried to dodge more.  
  
She understood why Mousse had been so bent on her learning to play and could not help but smile at his intelligent move. If he had openly told her she didn't know a word about strategy, she'd have exploded like a nuclear bomb.  
  
So they played chess everyday after studying and the last evening had not been that bad, she still lost, but after 25 minutes and Mousse had lost some important pieces.  
  
She'd had a look at chess manuals, but they were so boring. so she stuck to kung fu and the Northern White Crane School, perhaps the best to learn how to dodge and strike with swift, precise movements, just what she needed.  
  
Well, this was nice. Perhaps in time she might come upon one of Happosai's scrolls and have a look at them, to see any kind of technique the old letch might have developed. It might be something perverted, knowing him, but perhaps she could put it to good use.  
  
It was late when she got back home and headed straight for the kitchen. She made some tea and heated some leftovers in the microwave oven. The evening had proved to turn up right in the end.  
  
AN2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read recently that Kempo was developed from Kung fu by a Japonese monk or similar, so by reading about kung fu, Akane's getting information about the basis of her own form of martial art.  
  
AN 3. If someone doubts you can lose a game of chess in 4 movements, it's perfectly possible. I did the first time I played. Obviously, I'm not too proud of it, but I'm humble enough to recognize it. 


	6. Ch 6 Betrayed!

I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever companies publishing her work around the world.  
  
A.N. I forgot to appologize for my English, it's not my mother tongue, so I guess I make mistakes now and then. Be gentle, please (if anyone cares to read this, that is)  
  
for thought '' '' for dialogue  
  
CHAPTER 6. BETRAYED.  
  
The next day they had been surprised to see that Ukyo had skipped classes for the whole day. Akane was not that sad about it. She appreciated the cook, though after her role at the wrecked wedding, she never felt at ease around her. She still got a bit angry whenever she saw her hovering over Ranma and offering him an okonomiyaki or two with her cute smile. She definitely hated it when the chef managed to make a remark about cooking skills or cuteness. Ukyo really knew how to hurt her, using Ranma's words, to make it all worse.  
  
When they left for home, Ranma suggested going to Ucchan's to see what had happened. She agreed half-heartedly. she couldn't care less about the little bitch Did I just think that?.  
  
The restaurant was closed, but Ranma knew he would be welcomed at any time so he just pushed the door to let them in. Akane was surprised to see Konatsu bandaging Ukyo's left arm, a few bruises on her right, her clothes sporting a lot of cuts and her low lip swelling. Ranma was by her side on a milisec, demanding to know what happened. Akane was a bit dazzled. Sure she did not like her much, but she would never want to see her hurting, not physically in any case.  
  
Well, perhaps only by my own hands.... "What's going on, Ukyo? Who did this?" she asked, concern in her voice.  
  
Ukyo sat pensive. She had had a rough day. The battle or better, the result of the battle had left her beaten, way worse than physically. It had been a great dent to her pride and to the art she had devoted her life to. It was hard to tell Ranma about it, specially with Akane around. But the normally jelous, violet psychotic was actually pretty calm and she sounded worried...  
  
She told them briefly about her fight. Her cousin Kenji had come and issued a challenge for the mastery of Okonomiyaki Martial Arts School and defeated her quite easily. He would challenge her father next and then he could be considered the master of their school. She had not much love left for her father, but besides Ranma, okonomiyaki was her life, so it had been quite a blow to her self-image.  
  
Ranma was conforting her in a second and she could not hide her smile. She gave Akane a brief look, but she had a strange blank expression instead of her usual scowl. She could not read her. All the better.  
  
She planned to retaliate on him, but she would have to close the shop and spend some days training. That's when she came upon the brightest idea.  
  
"Ranma, could you give me a hand? I know if you train me I can't possibly lose. You're the best" She batted her eyelashes in the cutest way possible.  
  
Ranma laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, looking alternatively at Akane and Ukyo. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want Akane to be upset, but he would like to help his childhood friend.  
  
"Er, um, I don't know- he was looking at Akane, waiting for her to react in some way, but she kept a well achieved poker face- I guess, um, I... could do something- he glanced at Akane- What do you think?"  
  
Akane sustained his gaze.  
  
"Your time is yours to spare. Do as it fits you". Her voice sounded a bit cold.  
  
Ranma sighed in relief and nodded to Ukyo.  
  
Ukyo was raging inside. Why had Ranma to ask Akane for permission to train his true fiancé? She should know by now she didn't stand a chance. But since it seemed her rival didn't oppose, she hugged Ranma tightly, while he blushed and stuttered in his shy, charming style.  
  
"Er, we could, you know, start tomorrow. Contact your cousin and you could get back at him in a week..." He continued ranting.  
  
"Bye, guys, hope you have a good time training".  
  
Akane waved from the door. Ranma was about to follow her, Akane's demenour was bothering him, but Ukyo was still clutched to his arm and pulled him in front of the grill, asking for plans and tactics.  
  
**************  
  
Akane closed the door and hugged herself, holding to the last bits of her will not to cry. She had been worried about Ukyo's wounds, but when she first heard about the okonomiyaki artist's fight, she dreaded for what had come next: she would ask Ranma to train her and he would say yes.  
  
What indeed had happened. It was a hard work to breath when she remembered the whole scene and her own words. She had tried not to care, but how? She wanted to cry out loud. For God' sake! How she was supposed not to care that the jerk she had for a fiancée would train one of his other fiancés but refuse to train her?  
  
Tears started trailing down her cheeks and her jaw, following their way to her shirt. Some people where murmuring when she passed by their side, but she could not stop crying. Her chest ached, her breath ached.  
  
She walked through the park, going for the meeting point with Mousse. She saw him waving at her in a casual, friendly way. That was it. She ran, throwing herself at him with all her might, though miracoulously they didn't end on the grass. She clutched to Mousse's robe and cried, yes, she cried for a shattered heart, her own heart, her wrenching sobs breaking at Mousse's soul.  
  
He knew something had gone wrong, very wrong. He could sense the air of despair around Akane when she was walking through the park. He already knew the cause too: Ranma. He was beginning to despise the pigtailed martial artist for his ways. He had known a deep hatred for Ranma when he pursued Shampoo, but this was no longer a blind-jelousy driven hate. No, this was born from the fact that he was now a mere spectator and he could see things a bit more clearly, even if he tended to favour Akane from his stand point. But he would have to hear her story first before adding any more cause to his feud with Ranma.  
  
He pulled a handkerchief from one of his sleeves and gave it to Akane. He waited till she got a bit more restrained. After about 20 minutes, she got controlled her sobs and shaking and proceeded with the tale of the day. By the time she got where Ranma had agreed, even if half-reluctantly, to train Ukyo, she started crying again.  
  
There was a fierce look in Mousse's eyes. How he loathed the fool Saotome was! How many times had he broken her? That was the ultimate betrayal, knowing as he did how much Akane valued her training and the many rejections she got from her fiancée. He patted Akane's back, trying to soothe her. Akane washed her cheeks on her sleeves, the handkerchief long ago useless.  
  
"I swear, Mousse, I swear this is the last time he hurts me, I swear!" and started crying again.  
  
Akane was so emotional, so like him... When she was happy, she beamed, when she was sad, her eyes were a pool of sorrow, when she was hurting... well, any man could give his head off just to make her smile again. Any man, except Ranma, most of the time. He could not understand what was going through his long hatred foe's mind, that if, if he actually thought at any time. Except in battle, he would have hard a great time guessing if Ranma really had a brain.  
  
"I will make him pay, I promise, Akane" his voice cold as steel.  
  
Akane looked at him, with a sadness that surpassed anything he had imagined.  
  
"It's not worth the effort...- Mousse tried to interfere- No, Mousse, I've had enough, I won't worry anymore about Ranma and I don't want you to do anything we may regret. He doesn't deserve my caring about him, neither you fighting him. That was the last straw - she looked at the floor- We may not be able to beat him, either together or separatedly, I just don't think violence will get us anywhere, but there IS a way to get me out of this misery."  
  
"You won't be thinking..." Mousse dreaded what might be going through her head.  
  
"No, silly, I won't commit suicide over such a stupid thing. But at least, I can make myself out of harm's way, just as you did with Shampoo. I can't move out of my home and leave my family behind, and I can't kick Ranma and his father out. But I will find a way. I will move on, sooner or later, I will...".  
  
They both sat all silent in a bench.  
  
She might welcome a distraction... He wondered.  
  
"Uh, Akane, why don't we go to the cinema or something, so we forget about everything for a while? I have this night out of work. My treat"  
  
He hope it worked. She nodded.  
  
They chose the last Jet Li movie and sat by the dark, waiting for the film to start. Akane was on the verge of tears again and she leaned her head on Mousse's shoulder for a bit of comfort, she really needed some human warmth. He put his arm around her back and pulled her closer. She had been there for him when he broke down from Shampoo's last rejection. He would be there for her in her time of need. 


	7. Ch7 Training time A

A.N. Uh, I must say I was delighted to see the last reviews I got, I have my little ego, you know. C&C are welcome at anytime, even flames (it's cold here at night, hehehe), but please, with a logical reason behind.  
  
I must say I have doubts about the development of the plot. If anybody was wondering, I wanted an Akane/Mousse pairing, if anything, because it's original (I only have read one example in about 2000 ff stories I have read over the last year) and I value originality above all. If anyone wants to know, I had started this story long before I read that one, though it sounds a bit lame... I have my doubts now about the pairing, I would welcome some feedback about it.  
  
I'm a great fan of A/R get together stories, I'd rather say that I love them, but I've been buying the manga lately and, from all the reading I did, I think this two have to do some grow up ahead and have a long, long, long talk before they can try anything.  
  
I'm already writing the scene of the break up, but it will take me some time before I send it to ffnet, I like to go over and over again everything I write.  
  
Btw, I had a lot of fun writing the scene of Akane trying to learn to play chess and I would like to think I portrayed her well. Please, do tell me!!!  
  
An2. I finally found which is the little problem with the paragraphs... I swear, I swear this is the last time Word 97 for Windows deludes me, I swear! (hehehe)  
  
CHAPTER 7. IT'S ALL OVER.  
  
They watched the movie in a companiable silence. They shared a few snacks in their way to the Tendo Dojo. Akane stopped and turned to face Mousse. She gave him a sad smile and squeezed his hand.  
  
"See you tomorrow. Same hour, same place" and she walked into the house.  
  
Mousse would never know how much it had meant for her his staying by her side, she might have done something really stupid. She had never thought she had a suicidal streak on her character, but today's events had taken their toll on her. Had she been alone... Well, better leave that trail.  
  
She passed by the kitchen and greeted Kasumi. She looked concerned.  
  
"Ranma came about two hours ago and asked where you were. He went out on your search. I was wondering why you didn't come home together from school".  
  
She saw Akane tensing a bit.  
  
"We went to Ucchan's first to check on her and she and Ranma had some issues to discuss. I didn't want to bother and I left. On the way home, I found a friend of mine by the park and we went to see a movie"  
  
There was something else, Kasumi could tell, why should her baby-sister leave her fiancée alone with one of her rivals and without putting up one of her jelous fits? As far as she could understand from Ranma, they didn't fought on their way home, but Ranma was obviously in some kind of fault.  
  
"Is there something else you would like to talk about?" her worry obvious in her voice.  
  
"No, nothing, thanks, Kasumi"  
  
Akane's voice sounded hollow, but she didn't want to press her into any confession. That was not her way and she doubted Akane would welcome Nabiki's mind games.  
  
"Fine, just let me know if you need something" and kissed her brow.  
  
Akane walked to the furo. She needed a bit of relax. She made sure she had put the "Occupied" piece on the door and closed it before she made it to the water. She sat on the bath, enjoying the warm water. She felt cold inside, a cold even the hottest bath could not warm up. Before now, even when she got real mad at Ranma, she never stayed that cold for too long, her rage and her sorrow washed away with the water or crying herself to sleep, but she felt she could no longer cry.  
  
I guess there's nothing left.  
  
She stayed there for half an hour, when she felt she was falling asleep. She trodded to her room and closed the door and the window shutters. She wanted to be left alone. She certainly didn't want to see Ranma and hear to any excuse he might make up.  
  
************  
  
She got up for her morning jog, practicing some jumps on her way. She was getting better, she could tell. She had been running for more than an hour now and she almost didn't break a sweat. With her strenous sparring with the chinese amazon boy, that wasn't a surprise. She headed home and had a quick shower.  
  
She knocked at the guest room, calling for Ranma. She could not skip of "her obligations to her fiancée" but nobody said she had to wake him either. She would avoid him as much as she could.  
  
She had breakfast quickly. Kasumi frowned a bit when she told her she had already called Ranma, but he didn't stir. Her little sister had not spared any method to wake the sleepy head above before. Why being so polite now?  
  
"Bye, guys, I'm leaving for school!"  
  
"My, Akane, you're not waiting for Ranma?"  
  
"No, sorry, Kasumi, I already tried to wake him up, I won't be late just because he prefers his futon to school".  
  
Kasumi did not like that, even if her sister was somewhat right.  
  
"But you always waited for him before..." she said, a begging hint in the statement.  
  
Akane sighed. "Perhaps I got tired" and she left.  
  
I have the feeling we're not going to like the outcome of all this Kasumi shook her head while finishing her miso soup. The situation was maybe worse than she had imagined when they talked after leaving Tofu's office. Akane was growing up, but not in the direction she would have liked.  
  
Ranma woke to the sweetest good morning his father could bring upon him: a trip to the koi pond. With the usual yell "Whadoyadodafor?" she trodded to the table for her breakfast, adjusting her pants to her new size.  
  
"Aw, man, he should know me better than that... - she looked at the table- Um, where's Akane?"  
  
"She left for school about 10 minutes ago"  
  
Ranma choked on her soup.  
  
"What? She didn't even call me?"  
  
"Well, as a matter of fact, she did call you, you didn't wake up in time, it seems" Kasumi said.  
  
She left for the kitchen, once she saw Ranma was running in a frenzy to get ready for classes. She put the kettle to boil. When Ranma passed by the kitchen, now male, she was sipping some tea.  
  
"Tell me, Ranma, you didn't do anything to upset my sister yesterday, did you?" Her smile was as cheerful as ever, yet Ranma could not avoid but sweat.  
  
"Uh, no, not that I know..."  
  
"She told me you both went for a visit to Ucchan's and that's where she left. Could you tell me what happened?"  
  
Ranma was holding the neck of his shirt, to cool off. He was in the hook. He told her about Ukyo's plea and how he had agreed to help her train. The cup nearly fell from Kasumi's hand. Ranma waved his hand in front of her face.  
  
"Yo, Kasumi, are you all right?" She nodded. "Well, I'm leaving now, bye."  
  
She looked through the window, as he jumped the wall onto the next roof. You really don't know what you got yourself into... She could not approve of her sister behaviour to her fiancé, but the fact was. that she was right in some way. Something had to be done, before it was to late, but what? She shook her head. This is going to be a long day.  
  
Uncute tomboy! Why did she had to leave without me?  
  
Ranma was running on the fence as if pursued by the worst demon on earth. He could not avoid the sweet embrace of the purple-haired amazon, though.  
  
"Agh! Shampoo! Get off me, could ya? I'm already late!"  
  
"Aiya! Airen no need class, take Shampoo on date, yes?"  
  
"No, I won't take you on a date and I would be really glad if you let me go!".  
  
He somehow managed to get disentangled from Shampoo's glomping ways and raced to school. He counted himself lucky, though. Since Mousse had left the Neko-hanten, there was a lot of work there to do (they could not hire any other one to help) and Shampoo didn't have so much time to spare chasing him. Only, whenever she saw him, she was more agressive, trying to make the moves on him. He was grateful Mousse didn't attack him any chance he had too, in fact, he seemed to avoid him. Perhaps he won about 5 minutes rest everyday thanks to Mousse's beravioural change.  
  
He had gone (again!) through the morning shower under the ministrations of the old lady. He was more than late, since he had to look for some hot water. No way he was going to classes as a girl. He was charged with bucket duty, but it wasn't a surprise.  
  
He humphed after the teacher told him he could go again into class. Like he had any interest. Or maybe he did. He sat at his table and sneaked a glance at Akane. She was scribbling down some notes, she was the model student, after all. She looked all serious and focused. There was no anger he could detect by reading her aura; or there was a little spark, but nothing like her typical outbursts that made her aura a living flame. He was a bit surprised to say the least. He had expected her to mallet him for agreeing to train Ukyo, but she had said she didn't care... Well, those weren't exactly her words. 'Your time is yours to spare, do as it fits you'. It sounded so cold, so... unlike her.  
  
He sneaked another glance at her. Most probably she hadn't waited for him this morning just to pay him back. Perhaps a bit childish, but ... this was her only answer. He bowed his head. He knew he deserved it. And from what he had learnt from their common past, he deserved a lot more. In fact, the former day he had even wanted her to be herself and hive him a good beating. Masochism? No: a fair price to pay if one looked carefully what he had done... Instead, she had just disappeared and she wasn't home when he was back from Ucchan's. she wasn't either at the park; that was the first place he had checked, he knew it was her favourite place to go when something was bothering her. But she was nowhere to be found. And when he got back to the dojo, she was already in her bed, the window closed and the curtains drawn. She couldn't have said it clearer: she didn't want to see him.  
  
And she was right. In her place, he wouldn't want to see himself. Even if he had been able to go into her room and apologise, what would he say? He knew Akane wanted to better herself in martial arts, he was no fool not to see that. Why would she ask him to spar with her if it wasn't the case? But... He just wanted to keep her away from all the dangers and troubles he had undergone to be what he was now, a fine practitioner of Anything Goes.  
  
She was fine like she was, he could admit to himself, even having done most learning on her own, obviously too much centered around strength (he had suffered many concussions and bumps to prove that particular point). Why not keep it that way? Martial arts was just one more hobby, like every other sport she played.  
  
He sighed inwardly. Ukyo was another story. When they had first met, she told them she had trained for years against the sea waves. She was both strong and fast with her weapons, but not much of a threat without them. Their first fight had proved that right away. But she had gone through a rough life and came up with a tough character; she could go under his training mostly unharmed... when he came up with a technique suitable for her, that is.  
  
Akane would try, stubborn as she was and surely, in her eagerness, she'd get injured or worse. He closed his eyes. He couldn't even stand the thought of seeing her damaged, even the slightest scratch. That, at least, he had learnt at Mount Phoenix.  
  
He just... didn't know any longer what he wanted, except keep her safe, because... well, he cared for her, maybe even something more, because he knew he didn't feel the same about Ukyo or Shampoo, and certainly not Kodachi. But he didn't dare name it, because if he did... most probably the world would get going and the sun would still set on the east... or maybe chaos would devour them all.  
  
He frowned and kept his eyes shut tight. He wanted to keep his feelings at bay, but it was getting more and more difficult lately.  
  
He knew instinctively that things should change, but he knew he wasn't ready to take them. The last year and a half were the closest he had as a normal (?) life. But he still felt like he didn't fit into an every day's life.  
  
Whe would he keep his alertness 24 h/ 7d up? Or put his paws on any food that walked up on his way? He still felt like he was on his training trip with his father in some senses. He lived up to the day and never gave a thought about the following, unless he had any upcoming battle or something of the kind.  
  
He was interrupted on his musings by the teacher.  
  
"... Saotome, I see that for once, I've managed to get your attention and you didn't sleep in my class. Would it be too much to ask for the answer to the problem on the board?"  
  
He looked at the board, all self-conscious of the attention he had drawn. Rats.  
  
"Uh, 24?"  
  
The teacher sighed. You cannot ask for two impossible things the same day. This was no 'Alice in Wonderland'.  
  
"Haruka?" he turned to another student.  
  
"27.5"  
  
Ranma had stopped listening by now. He had side-glanced at Akane, waiting for her to turn to him and mouth 'jerk'. She never did, just kept on writing, sparing sometimes a glance at the patio.  
  
He drew his eyes back to his table. Just when he would welcome a good nap at class, sleep would refuse to take him on his cloud.  
  
What to do?  
  
Writing a note? It could work, they could talk at lunchtime or something. He snatched a piece of paper from his notebook and wrote some sentences. He tighted it into a little ball and aimed at her table, just between her forehead and her forearm.  
  
He started fidgeting nervously, waiting for an answer, a scowl, a snort, something.  
  
His hope was short-lived. She threw it through the window.  
  
He had been waiting for lunch-time to ask Akane why she didn't wait for him, but she left school with her friends and Ukyo didn't let him go. Ukyo didn't help, trying to monopolize his time and giving him the cute smile, but he felt, well, uncomfortable. She was far more moderate than Shampoo but she took any chance to rub against him, in the pretence she had to know how to take all the moves the right way.  
  
He was nervous about that, he had never expected that from his best friend. By this time, she should know (he hoped she knew) he saw her as a friend, even as a sister, but nothing else. He tried to keep the training to minimuns, but certainly, he had not trained to resist "the lost-puppy eyes attack" and conceeded. 


	8. Ch 7 Training time B

I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever companies publishing her work around the world.  
  
Chapter 7 B. Training time.  
  
*Updated A.N.: Thanks for your review Vivi, I'm afraid you were right, that update I made yesterday was too short, but I just had to reconstruct all the story from a first script I wrote 7 months ago. The training time took less than 200 words to be described then, but when I made my review a few weeks ago, I felt there was a lot missing. It may take a bit before I finish this chapter. Ch. 8 is almost finished and 9 is on the run. Be patient. And please, R&R.  
  
A.N. 1. Am I being too hard on poor Ranma? I had a look back at the story and it seems I forgot about him, specially when he is one of the main characters of the little drama... I tried to look at the situation from the wedding on from his point of view and came up with some conclusions about the consequences of his training trip with his father. It is indeed a dead weight on his shoulders and I have tried to insinuate it (or say it clearly, most of the time) through the story. I know I should have focused on him a bit more, I realized about it when I reviewed the last chapter. The problem is I wrote the first chapter, the only one I didn't make any change, about 7 months ago. The style in the first chapter and the latest 4 is different. I will have Ranma making some introspection some time soon, really soon.  
  
Thanks, Christina, you were really great, and the former review did boost my ego. I hope it doesn't grow to some epic proportions, though.  
  
Thanks also to Taechunsa for your review, it was encouraging, clear and straight to the point. It wasn't my idea to make Akane's story with Mousse so easy, I'm not so sure it would be interesting, though.  
  
I will give it a thought about a final A/R. The story I read about an A/M pairing was pretty particular. And just now I find that the wonderful Brianna Aisling has written something in the way my fic was going... (I'm so jealous...)  
  
Did I really give the impression Akane and Mousse mature in a short time? Then I didn't express myself too well; about four months since the wedding have gone by (more than two months pass by in the first chapter). Four months can change a lot of things. The wedding was a milestone for Akane, I think I should explain more clearly here what was Mousse' one.  
  
Akane is still far from mature. I mean, she smashed an innocent chessboard just because she lost a game... It's just that she knows what she likes, (note, not what she WANTS) and what she is or it not ready to take. I just made out of her a good student, nothing else. She's still too proud and she keeps jumping to conclusions, though it doesn't seem so obvious here. If she was mature enough, she'd confront Ranma and ask him why he's training Ukyo, instead, she instantly thinks he doesn't care about her.  
  
She improves her martial arts mostly because she's taking it seriously and Mousse is a good help, but I will never have her overpowering Ranma or something similar, nor Mousse, for what matters (sorry, Christina).  
  
I've gone through all the other ff I'm writing and I rescued a few ideas from one I don't feel like I will finish, because it lacks something. I think they will fit quite well here and I hope you will like the results.  
  
A.N. 2. Where are Shampoo and Cologne? And Kasumi, for what matters?  
  
I was a bit tired of seeing her depicted as an oblivious person, lost in her cooking and cleaning role (I'd rather say asphyxiated). I think she is intelligent and somewhat ironical (have you read the book 5, I mean the manga, about the Nekoken? Then you might know what I am talking about).  
  
However, I'm not that proud for making Kasumi tell Shampoo off (ch.4), but frankly, she is the only one with the authority to do something of the kind. She didn't feel good about it, either.  
  
So, the morning of the first day of the training period was long enough. I won't go into details about all the week (too tiring), just point out what I think would be more interesting.  
  
A.N.3. Isn't there any Mousse's fan somewhere? I'm trying to make him a co- star without Shampoo and nobody says anything about him!!!  
  
After too much ranting (and I hope you're not flying daggers at me), on with the story.  
  
****************  
  
I still don't know what I was waiting for  
  
And my time was running wild  
  
A million dead-end streets  
  
Every time I thought I'd got it made  
  
It seemed the taste was not so sweet  
  
So I turned myself to face me  
  
But I've never caught a glimpse  
  
Of how the others must see the faker  
  
I'm much too fast to take that test  
  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes  
  
(Turn and face the strain)  
  
Ch-ch-Changes  
  
Don't want to be a richer man  
  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes  
  
(Turn and face the strain)  
  
Ch-ch-Changes  
  
Just gonna have to be a different man  
  
Time may change me  
  
But I can't trace time  
  
I watch the ripples change their size  
  
But never leave the stream  
  
Of warm impermanence and  
  
So the days float through my eyes  
  
But stil the days seem the same  
  
And these children that you spit on  
  
As they try to change their worlds  
  
Are immune to your consultations  
  
They're quite aware of what they're going through  
  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes  
  
(Turn and face the strain)  
  
Ch-ch-Changes  
  
Don't tell t hem to grow up and out of it  
  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes  
  
(Turn and face the strain)  
  
Ch-ch-Changes  
  
Where's your shame  
  
You've left us up to our necks in it  
  
Time may change me  
  
But you can't trace time  
  
Strange fascination, fascinating me  
  
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through  
  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes  
  
(Turn and face the strain)  
  
Ch-ch-Changes  
  
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers  
  
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes  
  
(Turn and face the strain)  
  
Ch-ch-Changes  
  
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older  
  
Time may change me  
  
But I can't trace time  
  
I said that time may change me  
  
But I can't trace time  
  
David Bowie, Hunky Dory, 1972.  
  
**********  
  
Akane sighed. School was over for today. She left in a hurry with her friends, before Ranma could approach her. Perhaps for the first time ever she was glad to see Ukyo perched on his arm and dragging him outside, talking about the training. She didn't want to see him, not today, anyways. That's why she had thrown away his note.  
  
She waved her friends goodbye and headed home. She had a quick dinner and left for Mousse's flat. She hoped, she prayed with all her heart that routine would keep her mind occupied.  
  
Mousse greeted her. She had to be really depressed to keep her temper in check that way. Her greeting screamed of despair.  
  
She needs something different to keep her interest awake. He could picture her studying and drowning in her depression. A break in the routine was called for.  
  
"Say, Akane, have you ever played Ping-Pong?" It was the best he could come up with in so short time.  
  
"Uh, no, not that I remember"  
  
"Why don't we go to the park and play a game or two? You look like you need some fresh air -she gave him a sad smile at that-. We could do our homework later, it won't take long. It might be good for our training..."  
  
"Why?" He had her full interest by now.  
  
"It hightens your reflexes and speed. Com'on, I really want to give it a try. I've never been able to play it with my poor eye-sight, but now that I wear lenses, it should be fine".  
  
She had a hesitant but expectant look in her eyes.  
  
"Oh, I'm taking the chess board, too. We don't want to lose any practice, right?" He grinned.  
  
"Oh, pout". She got a bit angry, but she was smiling by now. "Someday, Mousse, I will beat you, I promise". She was pointing her finger at him in what intended to be a threatening way.  
  
"You can try as much as you want". He was still grinning when she bopped his arm. "Let's go".  
  
***********  
  
Ping-Pong was real fun; once they got the pads and balls, they got into a pretty fast rhythm in some minutes. Akane had a lot of trouble at first to control her strength, but soon fell into a steady cadence.  
  
After over an hour; they went for chess. Games were getting a lot more interesting lately and Akane came up with some moves that made him sweat sometimes, but she still tended to rush into finishing the game as soon as possible, so she made mistakes. Well, she wasn't doing too badly, either.  
  
He had tried once to play chess with Shampoo, but she had refused, saying something along the line of it being a dumb game, only apt for weaklings like him. He grimaced and thinned his lips.  
  
Stop thinking about her, you were doing fine so far...  
  
He focused again on chess. He had lost a tower in that mishap.  
  
******  
  
Shampoo was not interested in chess in that precise moment or at any other time of the day. Since Mousse had deserted them (she skipped the part of her great-grandma making him an outcast in a not very kind way), she was working overtime from breakfast to the latest dinner. She was completely worn out when she finished her day, too tired to try and visit Ranma, even knowing that she was not allowed to do it as long as it involved stepping on the Tendo's property. Cologne had admonished her pretty harshly for admitting to Kasumi that she was the head of the Tendo clan, for the prohibition took effect instantly. They had not expected something like that from her, they had always deemed her as harmless, but perhaps there was something more to her than she let on.  
  
And Mousse? She wondered what he could be doing. Not that she cared for him. She was just curious. The last time she saw him was also that last night she had been to the Tendo's.  
  
She had expected him to come by when he was restored from his broken arm and pledge his eternal love to her. He was so funny. And he made up for an excellent punching bag whenever she was stressed. He also managed to boost her ego with his declarations of eternal love, especially when she had just failed from one of her schemes to win Ranma.  
  
She grimaced. She hardly ever had time to chase her husband and when she did, the results were not at all to her liking. She had asked her great- grandma to use some spell, but she refused, saying they could not be trusted at 100%.  
  
She sighed. She would welcome anything or anyone to get her self-steem back. The leering crowds at the Neko-hanten just made her sick.  
  
She snorted.  
  
Mousse, you dork, where are you?  
  
************  
  
Kenji's victory had been based on a multiple attack with mini spatulas. From Ukyo's description and her scratches, it must be very much alike Kodachi's "thousand clubs attack". He finished with a final blow from his giant spatula. It seems it ran in the family.  
  
Ranma was analyzing the way Ukyo moved. He had tried to show her to keep her arms tighter around her body, but she took it as an offer to lay on his chest and she made him nervous, so he let her go to practice all alone while he made his remarks.  
  
Disarming Kenji might take too long, going one to one after his spatulas, and he could still produce a lot of harm. What could he teach Ukyo? Ranma pondered. He already knew well her style and there wasn't much space left for creating something new.  
  
Unless... what about chi-infused spatulas? He doubted Ukyo would be in total control of herself and her chi to produce a chi-blast, but to work on something she already knew well should be easy and he knew she could focus a strong emotion on them: her love for okonomiyaki. He still remembered about the 10-year sauce story. She had fallen in some short of trance when he had drank all the sauce and she tried to cook him like he was one of her crepes.  
  
He grinned. This would do. He would test his idea the following day.  
  
**************  
  
Akane made a late trip to the library. She didn't feel like going home. She pressed her hand on her chest, it felt so tight...  
  
I must have caught a cold or something...  
  
She picked some random books, going through them without really seeing anything.  
  
She felt a sting on the corner of her left eye. Then a tear would run along her cheek.  
  
There's too much dust in these damned books...  
  
Her vision blurred, she was making a pool over a medical manual.  
  
Who am I kidding?  
  
She closed the book and threw it away. She sat on the floor, her knees bent and her head laying on them, her arms holding her legs. And she cried.  
  
*************  
  
The following day was pretty much the same, though Kasumi was a bit more insistent than Akane woke up Ranma and walk to school with him. The fact was that Akane did call him, but did not use violence against him like in the past, so he never got up in time. Kasumi certainly wasn't ready to use that unkind method to do it herself...  
  
I guess I will have to buy a clock or something she sighed. Genma's attitude was not her ideal of a good start for the day.  
  
Akane kept avoiding Ranma as much as she could when Ukyo was not around. She bit her lips when Ukyo made some remarks about her training session in the girls changing room. Like she needed more salt in her wound.  
  
The day was too long to her liking, she just wanted to get away from everything. She'd thought about playing truant and spend the day out, but finals were just a month away, she could not miss her classes. She had again a quick dinner after classes and rushed to meet Mousse.  
  
*************  
  
"Ucchan, I've been thinking about your fighting style. I don't think I can help much -she paled a bit-, mostly because I never rely on weapons and you wouldn't be up to the challenge on time if I had to teach you to fight barehanded..."  
  
"You mean you're not going to help me?" her mouth was quivering a little bit.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant. I -he scratched the back of his head- ... I think I have something that will work for you. Can you pick up one of your mini spatulas and hold it in your hand?"  
  
"Yeah, sure". She did as was asked.  
  
"Now, I want you to concentrate on an emotion, a strong one".  
  
"That will be easy -she chirped- I just have to think of how much I love you!"  
  
Ranma grimaced. He had feared something like this...  
  
"Whatever, just focus on it and try to drive that feeling through you arm and into that spatula"  
  
What? Why would her Ranchan ask her something so weird? She frowned.  
  
"Just do what I say" he said reassuring.  
  
She shrugged, ready to start. She thought about her childhood, the few months spent with little Ranma and their daily fights and adventures. Then, their first meeting in Nerima, when he had called her cute, and then all the dreams she had about their future life, running her restaurant together, raising one or two kids...  
  
Ukyo was smiling from ear to ear, but as far as Ranma could see, she wasn't in the proper state of mind to do the trick he had asked. It would take long before she realized about it.  
  
***************  
  
By the end of the evening they had called it quits and left for home. Ukyo felt... defeated. She had been trying so hard all the day to get her way with that technique her Ran-chan had suggested, but didn't get any result so far. She felt beaten up.  
  
I've only got 5 days left. What if I don't learn it before?  
  
She had asked Ranma to train her in a physical sense, it would give her a chance to get near him too. It's not a sing to be after his gorgeous body, after all, but he had refused after that first day, when he had shown her the way to keep her defense shut.  
  
It felt so good...  
  
She sighed, a slight blush on her cheeks. When she had tried to channel that thought into her arms and her spatula, nothing came out.  
  
What did she have to expect from that kind of training, in the end? He hadn't said a word. What did he want, that she figured it out herself? Frankly, sometimes, her Ran-chan could be so... obnoxious. But he was the best martial artist in the world, so he had to know what he was talking about, and if he said 'Do this', she'd do it!  
  
She had closed the restaurant for the week, just to have enough time to train. She could have relied on Konatsu to run it for her, but, well, he wasn't the best business manager in town.  
  
I know just what's bugging me, I haven't prepared any okonomiyaki since lunch...  
  
She turned on the grill and prepared the mix in a few minutes, all lost in her task. This was her element and she felt as a fish in a pond in the kitchen.  
  
Not like certain people...  
  
She mused, smiling a bit, about Akane's obvious lack of cooking skills. How in the hell could she be so... bad? Her loss, anyway, it that allowed her to get a much cozier spot near Ran-chan's heart.  
  
She got lost in her art. If someone had looked at her, he would have thought she was performing some sort of a dance with her spatulas, the bowls of ingredients and the batter. She was glowing in the joy of cooking.  
  
She made some small, heart-shaped okonomiyakis and tasted one.  
  
Ummm, delicious...  
  
She ate some and then cleared the grill and the table, leaving everything clean and neat. She yawned.  
  
Time for bed, I guess  
  
It wasn't very late, but she felt tired, anyway.  
  
I will try that trick tomorrow...  
  
***************  
  
Kasumi sipped her tea. The dinner out with Tofu had been wonderful so far. The ikanosusomaki in particular was delicious. She gave him a bright smile. There was no engagement in her case, Tofu had managed somehow to convince her (and her father) that it would be better to get to know one another before taking any other step. His eyes still fogged up sometimes, when they shared a particular close experience, like their first kiss or a quiet walk under the rain. She mused Akane might enjoy something like that, although Ranma would mutter something about curses, rain and stupid fathers...  
  
She lost her smile. Given the present situation Akane and Ranma were stuck into, it was highly improbable they'd share a walk, be it under rain or sun. She sighed, leaving her cup on the table, her hands on her thighs. She looked over the window and sighed again.  
  
"Does something bother you, Kasumi-san?" asked Tofu, a hint of concern in his voice.  
  
"I was just thinking about Akane and Ranma"  
  
"Oh, the couple of the year". He grinned.  
  
She smiled, it would be a funny description of them, wasn't the situation so complicated.  
  
"Oh, I thought WE were the couple of the year"- Tofu blushed and bowed his head, while she giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand.- I was... -the smile was gone again.-I wonder what will come out of this. My sister is... oh, you know her since she was a little child, you know how much of a tomboy she is, how she takes everything to heart and how she usually reacts. I'm worried about her. I fear she's bottling up her emotions. At first I thought she was taking a bit of control over her life, but now... I don't know, she seems so cold. And she refuses to talk to anyone. I believe she hasn't taken too well that Ranma is training Ukyo. You know how much she values her martial arts. I know Ranma can act pretty foolishly sometimes, but I don't think he wanted to hurt her feelings. He has a knack about stuck in the weirdest situations. I thought she would react in some way, but now I don't know. She goes everyday to Mousse's flat and stays out until late. The last three days she came home nearly at midnight and I could tell she had been crying. I fear she may burst out and let out all her frustration in a big bang.  
  
"Do you want me to talk to her?"  
  
"Do you think you could do that? It would be a great help. And if you could talk to Mousse too... They've both been a support to each other lately. Perhaps she confides in him much more than she trust us, I mean, as her family, we haven't been a great help. Father tends to mess up every time he tries something and Nabiki... well, she won't do anything for free"  
  
Was that some sort of disapproval? Tofu was a bit surprised.  
  
"Well, I will try and speak to her and ask Mousse for some help"- He had the feeling there was something missing...- Who's going to do the talking with Ranma?"  
  
Kasumi sighed and sipped her tea. Her throat was a bit sore.  
  
"I don't know. I'm not sure I could do it myself, either he'd dismiss me with a wave of his hand or stay all stricken by the fact that I can speak of something else that is not cooking or doing the house- she giggled a bit- . I'm not sure he would listen to me"  
  
"And Mrs. Saotome?"  
  
"I have my doubts, she has some peculiar views about the way children should be raised; I think she likes Akane, but I don't know how she feels about the other girls, other than thinking her son's very manly for being so much pursued..."  
  
They chuckled. Tofu served her some more tea, while pondering over this news. They drank in companionable silence. Love is surely a magical spring, not too different from Jusenkyo: it could work as a curse too...  
  
He sighed inwardly. He remembered the trick he had played on Ranma the first time they met. Either he'd have to do it a few thousand times... or perhaps they just weren't made to be together. He grimaced at the thought, they were so... right for each other.  
  
If only they had time to smooth their rough sides.... He smiled a bit.  
  
"May I ask what were you thinking about, Tofu-san? I jut saw you change your expression from dislike to a smile in just a few seconds- she smiled-. I'm curious".  
  
He smiled again, more broadly now. How could she be so perceptive?  
  
"I was thinking about those two lovebirds. I just thought they resembled some rough, uncut diamond and some kind of artisan trying to get a nice piece of jewellery out of them".  
  
She giggled. It was a good analogy...  
  
They're both so hard and so fragile at the same time...  
  
One little, badly placed stroke and the hardest diamond could break in a thousand pieces.  
  
***************  
  
It was already Wednesday and it seemed like that withered old lady was just waiting to baptize him like every other day. Some day she would... Ranma- chan humphed; looking for some hot water. She was too late to take the short cut to Tofu's clinic, but she would be late anyhow...  
  
She managed to get some hot-water from a stand-out tea shop. Where did Akane get the teakettles all those times he had been splashed with cold water? He'd have to ask her sometime. Well, if she ever talk to him again. Three days and they still didn't cross a word, either at school or at home. He hardly ever saw her; except for the classes they shared, and he didn't get any chance for a spare minute, with Ukyo hanging all over him.  
  
He could have refused, he should have refused to train her. What did he know about okonomiyaki, after all, except they were fine to eat? And perhaps he had overrated Ukyo. How could she not figure out what was her strongest emotion?  
  
Here we go...  
  
He sighed, and mentally bopped his head, trying to remember that wasn't a manly thing to do. He was going nowhere. Oh, certainly he wanted to help his childhood's friend, but nothing else. And he was feeling like he was some sort of price to be shown, when Ukyo made her way through the courtyard, her arm around his. It bothered him. But it had been his big mouth to get him here... He was stuck.  
  
He sneaked a glance at Akane first after he managed to get into class. She was pale, with a blue shadow under her eyes. He knew she arrived late these last days. He always got an uneasy sleep when she wasn't at home, he just drifted from vigil to sleep until she walked into her bedroom. He knew it, it had been a fact for the last 4 months, but he just didn't want to know why. There would be time later. 


End file.
